Hi,
I am buying a home soon and plan to turn my living room into a entry level home theater. Does the type of flooring matter? Is carpet or hardwood better then the other? and if so why?

Thanks,
-Damian

Yes carpeted flooring is great for any hometheater since hardwood or linoleum will bounce sound all over the place,
That's why bass traps and sofas and throw rugs as well as acoustic panels and drapes are used in home theaters today where they "Absorb " the sound which is what you want,
if the room is too lively (easily recognized by clapping your hands and hearing an echo)
then it will require these things I described above.

thanks alot, carpet it is! =D

You should be a little careful with carpet. It is only going to absorb the high end within the room and leave the bass bouncing all over the place. It would be best to have a hard floor (wood or concrete) and treat the ceiling with proper absorption.

Glenn

I was going to say the same thing -- carpet will only absorb the upper-mids and trebles. And hardwood is so much nicer to clean, and walk on, and lasts longer than carpet. (I learned this when owning a house we put Berber carpet all over)

Some room designs have part carpet, to avoid early reflections, but part hardwood (towards the front and the back) to not throw off the tonal balance.

Area rugs are a nice compromise. A nice oriental (real or not) looks good or hardwood.

Reproductions in poly or in wool from India and China can be relatively cheap, so when someone spills the wine and doesn't say anything, it is not a disaster.

I've seen some with deeply saturated colors that just shout movie palace.

If oriental is not to your taste they come in abstracts, folk designs, patterns, etc.

I asked the same question of a buddy of mine in the stereo business. I'm planning to replace my carpet with hardwood floors but do not want to ruin the sound of my new home theater system! Surprisingly, he said the floor is not really a big deal. The most important consideration is the wall directly behind the speakers and the wall opposite the speakers (also the ceiling to a lesser extent). If it's possible to put some sort of sound absorbing decorations or art on those walls the sound should actually be better and more natural than with carpet (according to him). He also said to angle the speakers so they don't fire directly at the opposing walls, and to move them away from the walls (in free space) if possible.

Good luck!

I asked the same question of a buddy of mine in the stereo business. I'm planning to replace my carpet with hardwood floors but do not want to ruin the sound of my new home theater system! Surprisingly, he said the floor is not really a big deal. The most important consideration is the wall directly behind the speakers and the wall opposite the speakers (also the ceiling to a lesser extent). If it's possible to put some sort of sound absorbing decorations or art on those walls the sound should actually be better and more natural than with carpet (according to him). He also said to angle the speakers so they don't fire directly at the opposing walls, and to move them away from the walls (in free space) if possible.

Good luck!

I would say that spending the money on ripping out the carpet and replacing the floor before treating the other areas as you pointed out and WITH BASS TRAPPING is not smart. But not sure if I would go as far as to say that it is not a "big deal". ;)

Glenn